How do I almost have a ONE YEAR OLD? - Colt's 11 months!

HOLY CRAP - HOW IN THE HECK DO I HAVE AN ALMOST ONE YEAR OLD LITTLE BOY? I can't believe how quickly this year has gone - I am so amazed at how healing this little boy is in my life!

It's been a struggling realization that as this little boys 1st birthday approaches, that my mom's anniversary is close on it's heels. I can only hope that I've made her proud this year as I constantly maneuver my way through this crazy journey of motherhood. I can't even begin to count the billion of times I've wanted to call her for advice, encouraging words, someone to listen to me cry or scream, or for her to just tell me that I'm doing a great job raising this little boy. I never imagined a year ago that my mom would never live to meet her first and only grandson. Every day I struggle to find a new normal in my life, but I am SO SO very thankful for all the people that love and support me and my little family. Despite the overwhelming sadness that comes with unexpectedly losing your mom, I wake up everyday feeling blessed beyond belief.

Age: 11 months

Stats: 17.5 pounds - ugh STILL!

Clothes: More 9 month clothes and I attempt to put him in 12 month clothes but he pretty much drowns in them!

Diapers:  Size 3 

Hair Color & Eye Color: I still have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby boy!

Eating: It's been a better month - he still isn't too fond of baby food and will most likely be on formula past a year, but we are okay with that as long as this little boy is happy and healthy! He does eat 2 meals a day of baby food and most days he loves it! He is also obsessed with puffs, rice crackers, pinwheel crackers, and baby cookies! No real reactions this month - except one mild one to raspberries or pears (it came him a eczema rash all over his body - wah!) 

Sleeping: Still a great sleeper - almost 12 hours a night! We have started to wake him up during the night to give him a bottle since we are trying to make sure he gets as much food as possible a day!

Favorite Activities/Things: Now that this little boy is crawling all over the place - he loves to explore EVERYTHING! He loves splashing in the dogs water bowl and spilling it all over the floor and attempting to eat dog food (ha!) He loves turning on and off the x-box (because it makes a noise and lights up). He also loves attempting to pull down the cable thing that's connected to our cable box (no fun!) But, he is so curious and loves playing! Oh yeah and how could I forget his CRAZY OBSESSION WITH BUBBLE GUPPIES? I swear that's the only thing that can make this little boy smile and happy!

Favorite Words: He now says "dadadadada" all the time and sometimes says "mama" - he does a ton of babbling still, but not many words.

Least Favorite Activities/Things: Same as before - I can't tell you how NOT FUN diaper changing time is now for us - he seriously hates it and so does this momma! Not to mention that he never sits still long enough for me to get his new diaper on, ha! He also hates being tired and sleepy - and he's now to the point where he doesn't want to be rocked and cuddled before bed (wah!) He still hates being cold and having his clothes changed. And the separation anxiety whenever we walk out of the room (or walk from the dining room to the kitchen - which is 15 steps away) he will go nuts and scream until you come back to him (seriously he will freak out if you walk 10 steps away from him!)

Favorite Moment: I love his little personality - he now pulls himself up to standing position and we love going to the park every week so he can swing in the baby swings! He loves to laugh and climb all over mommy! His smiles brighten my day! 

Least Favorite Moment: This has been a great month - no least favorite moments ;) 

Other Milestones: He's doing so much better with a sippy cup now and knows how to drink out of a straw (but refuses to drink his milk out of a sippy, but loves drinking water during lunch and dinner time! But he also loves throwing his sippy out of his high chair about 1349273592375 times while eating!) He pulls himself up to standing position on our living room ottoman (still trying to get him to straighten his feet when he stands!) and loves crawling around the room at a fast pace! He also wore his first pair of shoes (on a daily basis) this month - his yellow mocs that this momma purchased off of Instagram!

10 months!

Age: 10 months

Stats: 17.5 pounds - STILL

Clothes: Finally in some 9 month clothes

Diapers:  Size 3 

Hair Color & Eye Color: I still have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby boy!

Eating: It has been a rough month for us - probably the roughest we have had. He had a few food allergy reactions - which led us to the allergist where we found out he has some severe food allergies (which we already knew - but it was good for confirmation)! So now that we know what to stay away from, hopefully our little man will start gaining some more weight! He also had hand foot and mouth - which hindered his eating this month too. Not to mention being sick and have digestive problems - like I said, we just can't catch a break!

Sleeping: Still a fabulous sleeper - except now he's going to bed even earlier now that I am back at work - he usually goes to bed around 7 or 7:30 but we start our night time routine around 7 (unless he's fussy, then we start earlier). We always start with a bath (he LOVES the bath), then a bottle, a book and then bed time! He usually sleeps until 7:15 am - yup, a full 12 hours without waking up!

Favorite Activities/Things: He still loves bath time and exploring any and everything! He loves going on walks and being outside in the sun. He loves cups, tupperware and spoons still - and LOVES throwing things! His great aunt Liz bought him some stackable cups that he LOVES clanking together! 

Favorite Words: He now says "dadadadada" all the time and will sometimes say "mama" - but it's still mostly babbling.

Least Favorite Activities/Things: Same as before - he hates being sleepy and turns into a monster when he needs a nap or bedtime! He also still hates being cold, changing his clothes & getting his diaper changed - Mommy's started to hate changing time too because this kid rolls EVVVERYWHERE & it's so hard to get him to sit still long enough to change his diaper! He also is having some separation anxiety and hates when people leave the room! (This has definitely NOT changed from last month!!!!)

Favorite Moment: HE'S CRAWLING!!!!! And I mean he's crawling FAST! The second you turn your back, this little man is off! 

Least Favorite Moment: All of his allergies and food reactions, hand foot and mouth which we had to take off almost a week from work for, digestive problems and eating issues - like I said, it was a rough month!

Other Milestones: Clapping all the time. He also loves reaching out for mommy to pick him up! We recently introduced a sippy cup but he still thinks of it as a toy and throws it off his high chair - but we're working on. Now the paci, definitely not working on that - I think I'm going to send this boy off to college with it!!!

My Influenster Obsession!

Ya'll, if you have never heard of Influenster, you need to click out of this blog RIGHT. THIS. INSTANCE. and log onto their website!! Who doesn't love receiving free stuff in the mail?

According to their website, Influenster is   "a community of trendsetters, social media hotshots, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influensters meet here to learn about new products from our favorite brands as well as review the products they already use in their day-to-day lives!"

All you have to do is receive the FULL SIZE products, review them, and tell all your friends on social media! It's as easy as that! Not only do they send you FULL SIZE products, they also offer special discounts on products! 

I loved Influenster when I was pregnant because you can read reviews of products (as well as review products you already own and use!) It helped me to decide on the best baby bathtub, as well as our holy grail of baby products - THE ROCK N PLAY!!!! 

I received my THIRD Voxbox a few weeks ago and I was so excited about it!

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in the color Anchors Away (orange) 

Full size & retails for: ~$1.99

I am a HUGE fan of Sinful Colors! I have so many different colors, it's pretty ridiculous! I wasn't too stoked to this orange color (but I guess it is a summery color!) I like Sinful colors for their plethora of different colors (easily able to transition to different seasons!) I don't think the quality is like Essie's, but for the price, you can't really beat it. You do need two coats in order to get the vibrancy shown on the bottle (which I usually do anyways). It did chip within a few days, but I'm constantly changing my polish, so that just meant it was time for a new color!

Overall: 7/10 - but will purchase again for the price and color choice (I'm too cheap to buy Essie, especially with how often I change my polish color!)

Covergirl Bombshell Curvaceous mascara

Full size & retails for: ~$9.00

I LOVE LOVE Covergirl! Even after purchasing Benefits "They're Real", Urban Decays "Big Fatty" and Tartes "Lights, Camera, Flashes" (can you tell I have an obsession with high end mascara? Ha!) I still have to say that Covergirl is one of my favorite brands of mascara! This was a two-in-one (volume/curl and intensify). I loved the curled brush and it didn't leave my lashes feeling clumpy (like many mascaras do!) I felt like it gave me the same amount of curl as my eye lash curler! 

Overall: 9/10 - WILL PURCHASE!

First Aid Shot Therapy for Pain Relief

Single dose & a 12 count pack retails for: ~$30.00 (I could only find this online, when I searched for this product on their website, it said there were no stores that sold this).

I was a little confused about this when I first got it. It's a "shot" of liquid pain relief. I have a HORRIBLE back so I am always willing and able to try anything that will help me feel better. It says it's fast acting, but I didn't see any difference between this and the regular pill form pain relief. Another downfall? When I looked up where this is sold - there wasn't any stores within a 50 mile radius that sells this. I'm not sure if it's only sold online right now or what?

Overall: 4/10 - it provided relief like any other pain reliever. Won't go out of my way to purchase online though

Hawaain Tropic Silky Hydration After Sun Lotion

2 fl oz & full size (6 fl oz) retails for: ~$9.00

I've always been a HUGE fan of Hawaiin Tropic and was super excited to receive this! This was the perfect summer staple after spending a day at the pool in the hot sun! It went on very smooth and blended in well. It felt good on my sunburned skin and helped to prevent peeling. 

Overall: 9/10 - WILL PURCHASE!

Jamba Juice Smoothie Kit

FREE coupon for 8oz smoothie kit (full size) & retails for: ~$3.00

Coupon for $1 off another smoothie kit

It's been forever since I've been to Jamba Juice and was excited to try these - especially since I'm a healthy eating/weight loss endeavor! I purchased the "Strawberries Wild" flavor and although I thought it was pretty good, I wasn't over the moon about it. It also doesn't have all the ingredients the REAL Jamba Juice smoothie has. It was a tasty breakfast and was VERY easy to make!

Overall: 6/10 - it was good and easy

Thanks Influenster for all the awesome products! Can't wait to get another VoxBox!!!

**All these products were sent to me from Influenster, free of charge, for reviewing and testing purposes.

9 months.

I can't believe I almost have a ONE YEAR OLD! Only a few months left...

Age: 9 months

Stats: 17.5 pounds

Clothes: 6-9 months, more 9 months now

Diapers:  Size 3 

Hair Color & Eye Color: I still have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby boy!

Eating: This poor baby just can't catch a break! A few days before I left Indiana, my dad and I made eggs for breakfast. In a lapse of judgement, I gave a little to Colt. BAD IDEA. Poor baby broke out in hives and nearly had his throat swell shut! After a rush to the ER and nights of Zyrtec, we have decided not to feed him anything but the fruits & veggies we know he tolerates until we talk to our Pedi about seeing an Allergist. 

This was not even 2 minutes after the hives started. It ended up being 10x worse than this and ALL over his body!

Sleeping: This little boy has cut SIX teeth since we have been in Indiana, so his sleep is all off! Ever since we got home from Indy, he's been *almost* back to his nightly routine of sleeping through the night again. He's only gotten up a handful of times in the week and a half since we have been back. Also, whenever he wakes up in the morning, he loves playing with his paci's in his crib. He can finally entertain himself so Mommy & Daddy get a little more sleep in the mornings (when we don't have to get up for work of course...)

Favorite Activities/Things: He loves exploring ANYTHING! And constantly puts everything he finds in his mouth! He still loves being outside & going on walks (although, we were totally spoiled in Indiana with awesome weather - it's far too hot most days/nights here in Texas now!) He also loves playing with his teething keys, petting his puppy sisters, and banging anything together! He also likes to sit in his high chair and tease Lola by leaning over the side of the high chair with his cracker and when Lola tries to jump up to get the cracker, he pulls back and laughs. He's already a silly and mischievous little boy!

Favorite Words: He now says "dadadadada" all the time!

Least Favorite Activities/Things: Same as before - he hates being sleepy and turns into a monster when he needs a nap or bedtime! He also still hates being cold, changing his clothes & getting his diaper changed - Mommy's started to hate changing time too because this kid rolls EVVVERYWHERE & it's so hard to get him to sit still long enough to change his diaper! He also is having some separation anxiety and hates when people leave the room!

Favorite Moment: This month he has been SOO fun and his little personality has been shining through!! He can finally sit by himself and has been getting up on all fours attempting to crawl. He likes to do the "plank" every day. He army crawls and has been crawling a little more in the past two weeks, but still doesn't do it consistently. He also loves to CLAP!!!

Least Favorite Moment: Leaving Indiana and my Dad! Also, he went back to Daycare a few days after we got home because this momma went back to work (staff development and I am back on contract this week! BOO!)

Other Milestones: Clapping all the time. He can go from laying down to sitting up. He arm crawls and has crawled a few times (but of course, everything is on Colt's timeframe - which I'm okay with! He will do things at his own pace!) He also loves reaching out for mommy to pick him up!

No idea why his shirt looks so bright?!?

8 month update!

Colton is officially 8 months old (actually, almost 9 months!) Where does the time go, seriously? This month has been a BLAST! His little personality sure is shining through!

Age: 8 months

Stats: 17 pounds

Clothes: 6-9 months, more 9 months now

Diapers:  Size 3 after he peed through his diapers 4 nights in a row!

Hair Color & Eye Color: I still have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby boy!

Eating: He's still on the Nutramigen for his milk allergy. And he finally LOVES baby food! But, we have been selective about what we give him after he broke out in a HUGE eczema rash all over his body after he ate corn & sweet potatoes (I'm assuming it was the corn since he had had sweet potatoes numerous times before this.) Looks like we need to make an appointment with an allergist when I get home! He eats about 2 meals of purees right now and has tried tomatoes & loves them! He could also eat puffs and yogurt bites all day long if I let him! 

Sleeping: This little boy has cut SIX teeth since we have been in Indiana, so his sleep is all off! He currently gets up about 2 a night but will sleep until 10-11 am, which Mommy doesn't mind ;) 

Favorite Activities/Things: He loves exploring ANYTHING! And constantly puts everything he finds in his mouth! He loves going on walks and being outside. He also loves when Grandpa blows on his belly! He also LOVES banging spoons and playing with tupperware!

Favorite Words: He now says "dadadadada" all the time!

Least Favorite Activities/Things: Same as before - he hates being sleepy and turns into a monster when he needs a nap or bedtime! He also still hates being cold, changing his clothes & getting his diaper changed. He also is having some separation anxiety and hates when people leave the room!

Favorite Moment: This month he has been SOO fun and his little personality has been shining through!! He can finally sit by himself and has been getting up on all fours attempting to crawl. He also likes to be on all fours and straighten his legs and does a "downward dog" yoga pose (just waiting for him to go face first into the rug when he does that! ha!) It has been amazing seeing my dad interact with Colton. Their relationship melts my heart. Every night my dad puts him to sleep, it's "their routine" and the other night my dad went to give Colt a bottle when he woke up around midnight and when I went up a little while later, my dad was cuddled on the bed asleep with Colton in his arms and Colt's little arm was draped across my dad's chest. I nearly burst into tears because it was so sweet! When things like that happen, it makes me realize that my mom is around watching over us & allowing me to witness amazing moments like that!

Least Favorite Moment: Teething sucks! He went from having NO teeth when we left Texas to SIX teeth since we have been in Indiana! 

Other Milestones: Sitting up by himself, can go from sitting to his knees to get a toy, constantly rocks back and forth on his knees. I know he will be crawling before long!

Like I said, this has been an awesome month of milestones! It has been amazing to see how much this little boy has changed and see his little personality developing.

It will be very bittersweet when we leave Indiana in a few days to head back to Texas. I know Vince has missed us tremendously and is excited to have us home, but we have had a BLAST with my dad this summer. I know all of us will be going through withdrawl once we leave.

I can't even put into words how healing Colton has been for my dad, especially this summer. He has done such a wonderful job playing both Grandma & Grandpa to this little boy and their relationship makes my heart swell with joy! Although I feel joy seeing the two of them interacting together, I still feel a twinge of sadness over the fact that my mom is not here and not able to experience all these milestones with us. I could never have envisioned coming home this summer with my precious baby and my mom NOT being here. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work out the way you want it to and I am sadly living my worst nightmare. And as healing as Colton has been for my dad, being home has really helped me in my grieving process. I still have a LONG, LONG way to go, but it's a step in the right direction.

I am thankful and so blessed to have a job that allows me to spend nearly two months out of town. This has been one of the BEST summers of my life and I can't wait to update the blog with pictures of all the awesome stuff we have done!